First few days in Ecuador

Hola Amigos!

Greetings from Cuenca, Ecuador!  I am so sorry that this is the first time that I am posting on here.  I have been meaning to keep you all updated, but life has been very busy right from the time that our flight landed in Guayaquil, Ecuador. 

On Sunday (10-10-10) our flight landed in Guayaquil, Ecuador around 11:00 p.m.  The director of the CEDEI education program in Ecuador (Esteban) and one of our professors (Bill) picked us up from the airport.  Its took us over an hour to get all of our luggage and get through security.  It was absolutely insane trying to roll all of our luggage in a mass of people that speak Spanish…not to mention the airport was pretty much organized chaoes.  Esteban and Bill made us feel very welcome as we came off of the plane.  From the airport we headed straight for our hotel in the downtown area of Guayaquil, Ecuador. 

The following day (Monday, 10-11-10) we went on a tour of Guayaquil.  I felt like I was in a dream.  It was an absolutely beautiful city and our tour guide did a great job of explaining everything to us in clear English.  The rest of the day was spent in a van driving 5 hours to reach Uzhupud where we would spend our last night in a hotel.  I was super nervous that I was going to get sick in the van with all of the motion and whatnot, but I took dramamine and did just fine.  The ride was AMAZING because it was through the mountains.  At one point we were so high that we were above the cloud line…no words can describe this beauty.  The hotel that we stayed as was phenominal.  I took a ton of pictures, but they just don’t do justice.  They had a fancy “welcome” dinner for us at the hotel…which was very warming for all us girls. 

Ahhh, this was the day (Tuesday, 10-12-10) that we arrived in Cuenca, Ecuador.  The actual city where we will be teaching and taking classes.  As I woke up in the morning, I had a nervous feeling in my stomach because we were going to meet our families later in the day.  After awhile I became distracted by our other activities and was able to calm myself down.  Before arriving in Cuenca we went to a market in a nearby city called Gualeceo.  It was very intersting to see how the market in another country works.  I had to kindly look away when we passed through the meat market.  I thought that I was going to puke because there was raw meat hanging everywhere!!  I held it together though and made it through.  Other parts of the market were incredible.  There were mass amounts of fruits and vegetables along with other sorts of materials such as woven sweaters, gloves, etc.  Esteban is originally from Cuenca so he is very familiar with the nearby cities.  The last stop that we made on our way to Cuenca was in a different town that was well known for their jewelry.  This was a dangerous town for me because of my love for earrings and rings.  It was neat to look at all of the unique styles of jewelry that were available.  CUENCA here we come!!!

It was finally time to meet our host families.  Our van took us to the part of CEDEI school where we would be taking our 3 classes (Spanish, Culture & Dance).  We sat in a small room as one of the staff members called us into meet our host mom and dad.  The way you greet people in Ecuador is much different than in the United States.  Each person is greeted with a hug/handshake along with a “kiss” on the cheek.  It really isn’t a kiss…you just rub cheeks while making the kissing noise.  Yes, I know very different from the United States…but I am adjusted to that cultural difference by this point.  Our host mom and dad are super nice!!!  I was so thankful for this.  We really aren’t supposed to speak any English to them, unless necessary.  My friend Laura, who I am living with, is able to carry on conversations in Spanish.  I am so thankful for her because she can translate for me and I’m learning a lot more Spanish from being emersed in a culture that speaks it everyday.  Hopefully by the end of the trip I will be able to speak a little bit more fluently.  It’s kind of funny because right now I find myself speaking “Spanglish” a lot of the time, but I will randomly speak Spanish when it’s not necessary. 

The house we are staying in is BEAUTIFUL and actually quite big.  Our house is high up on a hill which is awesome because the view of the city is amazing from our bedroom window.  Laura and I are sharing a room, which we were both happy about because it gives us a chance to debrief and reflect each night from the activites from the day.  Their meal schedule is a bit different here…kind of a shock for myself and most of the other American students that I am with.  The breakfast consists of tea/coffee and a piece of bread.  Lunch is served around 2:00 p.m. and this is their big meal of the day…so I would compare it to our dinner in the United States.  Dinner for people in the Ecuador culture is a small meal that is served around 8:00 p.m.  A lot of the meals consist of a meat and rice.  All of our stomachs have been adjusting to these differences!

Cuenca is a city that is located within very high altitude.  The altitude hasn’t affected me that much yet and hopefully it doesn’t in the future.  We do a ton of walking on a daily basis.  Yesterday was our first day of teaching along with taking classess.  I would love to give you an idea of what our day looks like.  In the morning we have to walk down to the bus stop by 7:00 a.m.  The bus/taxi then takes us to CEDEI primary school where we will be teaching.  We teach until 1:30 p.m. each day and then we have a taxi that takes us back to the bus stop and from there we walk back to our homes to eat lunch with our families.  After lunch we have a short amount of time before classes.  Each day we have a class from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m., but it takes about 45 minutes to walk to the CEDEI education building.  I am guessing that we will be walking there everyday and taking the bus home because by the time we get out of class it’s already dusk.  BUT the good thing is that the bus is only 25 cents…yes, I know SO CHEAP!!  As you can see we’re pretty busy each day, but it’s been a great experience so far and hopefully I’ll grow from it in the end.

Yesterday was our first day at the school we will be teaching at and I just wanted to mention a few things about this.  The school that we’re teaching at is really neat, but there are a lot of differencs between the education here in Ecuador and the education back home.  The students here are much more independent and each classroom seems to be much more relaxed.  They have more freedom to move around and choose what they want to do…it’s just not as structured as the education within the United States.  This week we are rotating among the classrooms and taking the time to observe.  I’m super glad that we’re doing this because there are so many cultural differences.  One being time…Ecuadorian 5 minutes can turn into 20 to 30 minutes.  They are just much more layed back about the timing of things.  Next week is when we actually start to teach and I will be sure to update you on that when the time comes.  One other quick thing...I had a little girl come up to me today and say “Tu pelo es muy bonita y grande.”  In English she said “your hair is very pretty and big.”  Hahaha I thought this was so cute because I had worn my hair curly and down and with the weather it does tend to “fro” out.  I’m sure I’ll have many other funny/cute stories that have to do with the kiddos. 

Last but not least the weather is nice here.  Super cold at night and usually in the 60’s or 70’s during the day.  Ecuador is definitely a country that you want to layer your clothing because when the sun is out it’s hot, but when it goes away the temperature dramatically drops!!  As Americans we definitely stick out in Cuenca, but in general the Ecuadorians are very kind and welcoming to us!!

Thanks for taking the time to read my EXTREMELY long blog post.  It has been difficult for me to post anything because we do not have wireless internet at my families house (therefore I can only be on the internet after classes within the school building or at an internet café)…but I did want to catch you all up on the past few days.  From here on out, they shouldn’t be as long…I promise.  I hope that you all are doing well back home!  Sending each and every one of you love all the way from Ecuador!!  Talk to you soon! Xoxo

Love,

Aimee